The B.C. Commercial Liens Act: Unifying and Modernizing

British Columbia’s new Commercial Liens Act (Act) comes into force on June 30, 2025. This new legislation brings substantial changes to the law governing liens, intending to reduce the risks and costs for service providers who provide labour or materials for (i) restoring, improving, or maintaining the condition or properties of goods, (ii) storing goods, (iii) transporting, carrying or towing goods, or (iv) salvaging goods.

The Act establishes a single, unified statutory regime governing service-related liens in B.C., adopting the Uniform Liens Act first recommended by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada in 2000. It repeals prior laws which applied different rules depending on the type of service. This lack of consistency in existing lien legislation had led to differential treatment of similar liens across various service providers. The new framework gives service providers a more reliable legislative framework for creating and protecting their security interests.

Three common types of service liens illustrate the shortcomings of the previous framework and the intended benefits of the new Act.

Storers’ Liens 

Previously, the Warehouse Lien Act (WLA) governed storers’ liens, with liens being limited to goods remaining in a warehouser’s possession. The ability to enforce the lien would be lost if the warehouser no longer maintained possession of the goods. The public sale of goods under the WLA also involved a complex framework of notice and procedural provisions, resulting in an unnecessarily complicated process for lienholders. The Act:

• Extends Non-Possessory Liens: Under the Act, a lienholder does not need to have possession of the goods to have a legal right to enforce the lien. This change helps eliminate potential additional expenses associated with maintaining possession of goods and allows the owner to retain the use of the goods, including for income-generating purposes.
• Updated Sale Provisions: The Act modernizes the governance of these liens by standardizing the sale and notice provisions across different lien types and incorporating the procedures outlined in the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA).

Repairers’ Liens 

Repairers’ liens were previously governed by the Repairers Lien Act (RLA) and the common law. The common law repairers’ lien established possessory liens that ensured payment of a particular service. The RLA permitted registration of non-possessory liens, but it was limited to motor vehicles, aircrafts, boats and outboard motors. It also required the repairer to have had an initial period of possession to be enforceable. The RLA gave priority to the first registrar in time and did not contain provisions that allowed liens to be assigned. The Act:

• Extends Registerable Liens: The Act creates a new type of lien that can be registered in the Personal Property Registry. Non-serial numbered goods can be perfected through registration or possession. Any commercial lien may be registered with a financing statement that includes a written authorization for the service or an acknowledgment to pay for the service. This change marks a major expansion in the types of liens that may be registered and enforced by service providers.
• Standardizes Lien Creation: Under the Act, a lien is created automatically upon commencement of the service, meaning the lienholder does not need to have possession of the property at any point. This change offers greater protection for providers who make house calls or service heavy, immobile machinery.
• Updates Priority Scheme and Assignability: Provisions in the Act give subsequently registered liens priority, aligning the scheme with the nature of repairers’ work. In addition, liens under the Act can be assigned, conforming with modern commercial practice.

Transporters’ Liens 

Common carriers’ liens are particular possessory liens previously recognized only by common law. They only secured the price of the service, not other incurred costs such as storage or maintenance fees. The carrier had no right to sell the goods, and the lien was not assignable. The common law right also did not extend to private carriers. The Act:

• Standardizes Amount Secured: The Act provides clear rules that ensure the amount secured by the lien is either the agreed-upon service price or the market value for the services provided.
• Expands Class of Potential Lienholders: The Act ensures any type of service provider performing the relevant services can enforce a lien.
• Greater Protection of Goods: The Act places new responsibilities on lienholders in possession of goods to ensure reasonable care and preservation of their value. These changes protect the integrity of the goods and increase certainty for lienholders and owners.

Key Takeaways 

The Act is intended to modernize B.C.’s commercial lien framework in order to increase efficiency in the service industries. It achieves this goal by, among other things:

• Consolidating outdated legislation into a single framework
• Abolishing the common law repairers’ lien and common law carriers’ lien
• Integrating commercial liens with the PPSA

The Act should provide commercial lienholders with greater flexibility in securing payment, while at the same time offering owners increased transparency and consistency in how liens are applied and enforced.

For further information about any aspect of this bulletin, please contact the authors or any other member of our Litigation & Dispute Resolution group.